Ski



April 25, 1944. H; A. SNQW 2,341,441

- sKI y Filed Fb. 1e, 194s HARRY ASNOW INVLNTOIL ATTORNFY Patented pr. 25, 1944 Harry A. Snow, Boulder, Colo.

Application February 16, 1943, Serial No. 476,108

6 Claims.

This inventionv relates toI a ski and more particularly to an attachment applied to the under surface of the ski and serving to grip the surface of snow orice and allow a person wearing skis to wal-k uphill without slipping rearwardly.

One object of theV invention is to provide an attachment of this character consisting of a mounting plate adapted to be countersunk in the under surface of a. ski and carrying a blade hingedly mountedA so that it may swing from folded or retracted position to downwardlyextending position, inwhich position its sharpened free endmay have biting engagement with snow or ice.`

Another object of the invention is to so form the mounting plate that it defines a pocket for receiving the blade and thus disposing the under surface of the blade ush with the under surface of the plate. Therefore, the blade will be countersunk and not interfere with forward sliding motionI when sliding down a hill.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved hinge construction for pivotally mounting the blade, a spring being provided for urging the blade downwardly, and portions of the hinge being so formed that the spring will be kept under tension and swinging movement ofthe blade limitedV as it swings downwardly.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of this character'which is formed of cast, stamped, or forged metal, is very strong, easy to apply, and not liable to work loose when skis aLe in use.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a ski of the imt proved construction.

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan View of the ski, front and rear portions being broken off.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line 3--3 of Fig.r 2, the blade being extended downwardly from the ski.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, showing the blade in retracted position. l

Fig. 5l is a top plan view of the attachment, a

portion of the ski being indicated by dotted lines.

gitudinally' extending groove 3 midway its width and below the portion of the ski upon w-hich'the wearers foot rests, the-ski is formed initsv under face with a recess 4v having' a welll or pocket 5 spaced from itsY front end and depressions tr and 'I at its front and rear ends alinedwithA the groove.

The attachment consists broadly of a mounting plate 8 which is preferably fori-ned of cast, stamped, or forged metal, and blade 9 hin-ged to the mounting plate for swinging movement from the retracted position of Fig. 4 toward. the down-- wardly extended position of Fig. 3. The intermediate portion I of the plate is depressed or offset: upwardly to form`r a pocket Il in the under face of thevplate, and this pocket has sloping side walls I21 and a, sloping rear wall I3. The forward portion of the depressed portion is. cut to` form an opening I4 extending the full width of pocket I-I, and openings l5 are provided to receive screws I6 for firmly securing the plate in pocket 4 of the ski. At its front and rear ends, portions of the plate. arey depressed to form concavo convex lugs I1 and I8 which register with the grooves 3 ofthe ski and iit. into the depressions 6 and 'I to assist in bracing the plate against transverse strains. The thickness.. of the blade is such that when it is in retracted position, it flts snugly in thepocket H with its outer surface ush with the lower or outer surface of the mounting plate. Therefore, the blade will not project below the mounting plate and interfere withk forward sliding movement of the ski. 'The blade has its rear endI beveled to provide -sharpen ed free enel for cutting into ice or hard snow crust and prevent rearward slipping of a ski lwhen walking uphill and, at its front end, there is a sleeve I9 ,whichl extends entirely across the bladeand isv closed at its endsby heads forming hinge ears 2 0 whenithe sleeve is cut away fora portion of its circumference to .provide'a troughvshaped sleeve having the heads or ears atj its ends. The sleeve fits between ears 2i and`22 wheie it is pivotally -mounted by a pin 23 carried by ears 2| and 22 and passing through the ears 20. A helical spring 24 fits about the pin with one end bearing against the rear side edge of the arcuate sleeve I9 'and its other end bearing against an arm 25 carried' by and projecting lat'- er'allyfrom the forward portion of ear 22 partially acrossthe mounting plate and along the sleeve-for a .portion of the length thereof. The spring will thus be held under compression and serve to urge the blade toward the extended position shown in Fig. 3, so that when a ski is lifted during walking, the blade will be shifted downwardly out of the pocket I l and its sharpened free end may :bite into snow or ice and prevent rearward sliding movement. A lug 26 extends laterally from the ear 2| across the adjoining ear and constitutes an abutment engageable by the front edge of the sleeve to limit downward swinging movement of the blade. The arm may also engage the front edge of the sleeve to assist in limiting downward swinging movement of the blade. By so forming the attachment, skis equipped therewith will be very effective in use as they may slide forwardly without interference by the blades but, when walking uphill, the blades will be urged downwardly when a ski is lifted and the rear ends of the blades will bite the front end of the recess, the under face of the ski being formed with a longitudinally extending groove and the recess being formed at its ends with depressions alined with the groove, a mounting plate fitting snugly within said recess and at its ends having portions oiset upwardly and tting into said depressions, fasteners passing through said plate and into said ski to detachably secure the plate, the plate being formed with an upwardly offset portion defining a pocket in its under face, an opening being formed through the plate at the front end of its pocket registering with the pocket of the ski, hinge ears carried by said plate at opposite ends lof the opening thereof and extending into the pocket of the ski, a blade fitting snugly into the pocket of said plate and having its under fa-ceflush with the under face of the plate when in retracted position, a transversely arcuate trough-shaped sleeve at the front end of said blade passing through L the opening of said plate and into the pocket of the ski, hinge ears at ends of said sleeve, a pin `passing through ears of the plate and blade and pivotally mounting the blade for swinging movement from retracted position to extended posiy tion in which it extends downwardly from the plate and ski, an arm extending laterally from one hinge ear of said plate, a-spring about said pin having oneend bearing against said arm and its other end bearing against the rear edge of said sleeve, said spring urging the blade downwardly toward its extended position, and a lug extending from the other hinge ear of said plate across the adjacent ear of the blade for engaging the front edge of the sleeve and limiting downward swinging movement of the blade.

2. A ski formed in its under face with a recess and a pocket spaced from the front end of the recess,-a mounting plate iitting in said recess and formed with a seat in its under face and with an opening at the front end of the seat registering with the pocket, hinge ears at opposite ends of the opening projecting into said pocket, a blade fitting into said seat with its under face ush with the under face of the mounting plate, a

sleeve extending from the front end of said blade through said opening into said pocket, the sleeve being open along its upper portion and having hinge ears at its ends,a pin passing through hinge ears of the plate and sleeve and pivotally mounting the blade for swinging movement from retracted position in the seat to extended position in which it projects downwardly from the plate and ski, a lug extending laterally from one ear of said plate across the adjoining ear of the sleeve for engaging the sleeve and limiting -downward swinging movement of the blade, an arm extending laterally from the outer ear of the plate 1ongitudinally of the sleeve, and a spring about said pin having ends bearing against the arm and the sleeve, said spring being held under compression and serving to urge the blade downwardly.

3. A ski formed with a pocket opening through its under face, a mounting plate countersunk in the under face of the ski and formed with a seat in its under face extending longitudinally of the plate and an opening at the front end of the seat registering with said pocket, ears extending upwardly from said plate at opposite ends of the opening and into said pocket, a blade fitting within said seat with its under face flush with the under face of the plate when in retracted position, a sleeve at the front end of said blade passing through the opening into said pocket in close proximity to inner side faces of said hinge ears and having hinge ears at its ends, a pin passing through the hinge ears and pivotally mounting the blade for swinging movement to extended ,position in which it extends downwardly from the :plate and ski, a lug extending from one ear of the plate for engagement by said sleeve to limit downward movement of the blade, an arm extending from the other ear of the plate, and a spring for urging the blade downwardly carried by said pin and having one end bearing against said arm and its other end engaging the sleeve.

4. An attachment for preventing rearward slipping of a ski, comprising a mounting plate formed with a recess in its under face and an opening at the front end of the recess, a blade fitting within the recess when retracted, a sleeve at the front end of said blade passing through said opening and having hinge ears at its opposite ends, hinge ears projecting upwardly from the plate at opposite ends of the opening, a pin passing through said ears and mounting the blade for swinging movement from retracted position to extended position downwardly from the plate, said sleeve being open along its lower portion below the hinge ears of the blade and having front and rear side edges, an arm extending from one ear of said plate, a spring about the pin having one end bearing against said arm and its other end bearing against the rear edge ofthe sleeve and urging the blade downwardly, and a lug extending from the other ear of the plate for engagement by the front edge of the sleeve to limit downward movement of the blade.

5. An attachment for preventing rearward slipping of a ski, comprising a mounting plate adapted to be secured against the under face of a ski and formed with an opening, hinge ears extending upwardly from said plate at opposite ends of the opening, a blade extending longitudinally of said plate, hinge ears extending upwardly from the front end of said blade through the opening of said plate, a pin passing through the ears of the plate and blade and mounting the blade for swinging movement from retracted po,-

sition close against the plate to extended position in which it extends downwardly from the plate, a spring carried by said pin for urging the blade downwardly, and abutments ycarried by the ears of said plate, one of said abutments limiting downward swinging movement of the blade, and the other one of said abutments engaging said spring and holding the spring under compression.

6. An attachment for preventing rearward sliding of a ski, comprising a mounting plate adapted to be secured against the under face of a ski, hinge ears carried by said plate, a blade extending longitudinally of said plate, hinge ears at the front end of the blade in side by side relaextending laterally from inner sides of the ears of the plate, one abutment serving to engage the front edge of the blade for limiting downward swinging movement of the blade, and a spring for 10 urging the blade downwardly carried by the pin and having portions engaging the blade and the abutment.

HARRY A. SNOW. 

